Round 10: Daytona International Speedway - Daytona

Daytona

March 9, 2013

Barcia Finishes on the Podium at the Daytona Supercross by Honda

Round 10 of the 2013 Supercross season took place Saturday at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. This year’s Daytona Supercross by Honda marked Honda’s 22nd year sponsoring this unique and historic event. Race fans filled the stands to witness an impressive showing by the Honda Red Riders, with four out of the top six aboard Honda CRF450Rs. Team Honda Muscle Milk rookie Justin Barcia took the podium with a third-place finish in his first Daytona 450 Supercross-class appearance. Muscle Milk-supported GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn finished a solid second place at round four of the Eastern Regional 250 Supercross class.

Justin Barcia

Justin Barcia

450 Race

Despite the brutal track conditions, it was a noteworthy night for Barcia who nabbed his fourth podium appearance of the season with a third. Following a strong heat race win, Barcia spent the first half of the main event in second place. Succumbing to the pressure of another rider, Barcia settled into third and focused on staying consistent the remainder of the race.

“I am happy with how tonight went and love being up on the podium,” stated Barcia. “I want to win but both Ryans were riding really good tonight, so I’m happy just to be up here with them. The track was brutal, and felt like an outdoor race for me. I rode the best I could and had a lot of fun.”

Sitting in fifth on the opening lap, Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard did his best to log consistent laps throughout the 20-lap main event. A few small mistakes moved him into sixth, which is where he finished. “It has been a rough couple of weeks for me,” stated Canard. “I gave all my effort but know that I have some things I need to work on. I’m happy to be healthy and moving onto the next race.”

Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac scored his career-best finish aboard his Honda CRF450R with a fourth-place overall. Despite a mid-pack start Tomac moved steadily through the field, making his way from ninth on the opening lap to fourth by the halfway mark, which is where he settled.

“I am really pleased with how tonight went,” stated Tomac. “I finally rode like I know how to and felt really comfortable on the bike. I didn’t get the best start but was able to relax and make the passes I needed to. I’m learning a lot this time on the 450 and definitely feel like I know what it takes to ride at this level.”

TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed put together an impressive performance in his heat after a first-lap crash left him at the back of the pack. He charged through the field and managed to go from last up to fifth, transferring him into the main. In the main, Reed grabbed a good start and quickly worked his way into the top five before a mistake at the halfway mark dropped him two positions. He was able to recover and finish fifth.

250 Race

Muscle Milk-backed GEICO Honda rider Wil Hahn continued to impress aboard his CRF250R, nailing down second and extending his points lead to five heading into the next round. Hahn started the night out strong, grabbing the holeshot in his heat and leading wire-to-wire. In the main event he came through the first turn in fourth before quickly making his way into third. With six laps remaining Hahn made his move on second, which is where he finished.

“I am satisfied with a second this weekend,” Hahn said. “The heat win really helped my confidence heading into the night, so that was cool. I got a fourth-place start in the main and just tried to stay consistent and capitalize on any mistakes that were made in front of me. I wanted to win but by the time I got into second Marvin (Musquin) was gone.”

Following a second-place finish in his heat, teammate Zach Bell went down twice in the main event to place 18th over- all. “I had a really good heat race finishing second behind Wil (Hahn) so I wanted to work off that, but the main didn’t go as well as I had hoped,” said Bell. “I got a great start but came together with Dean (Wilson) and fell down. I made my way back up to eighth but towards the end fell again and finished 18th.”

Wil Hahn (Honda)

The Focus: Honda Daytona Kick-Off Party

The 2013 Supercross season marked the 22nd anniversary of The Daytona Supercross by Honda, and this high-profile event served as the perfect venue to also celebrate American Honda’s 40 years of motocross racing in the USA. To help celebrate, Honda hosted a Daytona Supercross Kick-Off party Friday evening. Team Honda Muscle Milk riders along with the other Honda racing stars came out to Honda’s main display area for a meet and greet with fans and an autograph session. Hundreds of fans arrived to enjoy music, snacks and to meet their favorite riders. It was an impressive list of riders in atten- dance including: Trey Canard, Justin Barcia, Chad Reed, Kevin Windham, Eli Tomac, Wil Hahn and Zach Bell. Also in attendance were Honda racing leg- ends Gary Jones, Jeff Stanton and Supercross King Jeremy McGrath.